Clock in to Armley for Potts of museum fun!

Linda Barron cleans one of the Potts clocks that form part of an exhibition at the museum.

IT’s a Leeds manufacturing name that will never fade with the passing of time.

And now the city’s own Potts family - one of the world’s greatest clock-making dynasties - is being celebrated as part of a an exhibition in the city.

Clocks by the famous ‘Potts of Leeds’ company, which was founded by William Potts in Pudsey in 1833, are being showcased as part of the ‘Clocks of Character’ exhibition at Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills.

The family built some of the city’s most iconic timepieces, which include the clocks at Leeds Town Hall, Corn Exchange, Old Post Office and Holy Trinity Church on Boar Lane, and the company received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria in 1901.

In total, five generations of the Potts family produced more than 1,600 public clocks for towns and cities in Britain and across the world.

The exhibition, which has already attracted a stream of enthusiasts, runs until Sunday, September 28. Visitors can see examples of the finest clocks produced by Potts of Leeds, as well as items from the family’s private collection. The display includes turret clocks, wall clocks, drum clocks, prominent royal clocks and an early example of one of the company’s famous railway clocks, which has been brought over from Argentina for the exhibition.

Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, Leeds council’s leisure and skills portfolio holder, said: “Potts of Leeds are a truly iconic clockmaker. This is a fantastic opportunity to see the products they have produced over five generations. Many of our city’s landmarks still bear the clocks manufactured by Potts of Leeds, and it is amazing to think that the company also produced 1,600 public clocks for other town and cities, not just in Britain but around the world.”

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